


Change My Mind

by Louis_Socks (AshyBear)



Series: The Change My Mind Series [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 1d, Cereal, Crushes, Hazza, M/M, Narry - Freeform, Nialler, STOUIS, Tommo - Freeform, directioners - Freeform, larry - Freeform, lilo, lilo paynlinson - Freeform, nesquick, payno, zayn, zouis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-18 10:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 13,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3566135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshyBear/pseuds/Louis_Socks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis realizes he has a crush on Liam, will he be able to tell the boys he's gay and admit his feelings for Liam?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Up All Night

They didn’t understand. He loved them all like brothers but they didn’t get him. Though that was his own fault since he never told them.  
  
They thought he was just the goof of the band, that he was all about fun and games. He was, (he joked about everything) but would they still think that way if they knew he was **gay?**  
  
Louis was thinking this as he and the lads were lounging about the tour bus on one of the few days they had off. They had started watching movies and were now watching Harry’s favourite: 'Love Actually'. The boys were talking about their girlfriends or crushes all throughout the movie not realizing that Louis wasn’t contributing to the conversation.  
  
“Do you guys wanna head to bed? We have a busy day tomorrow.” Liam asked the other lads.  
  
A chorus of "yeah" was given as they all stood up and walked towards the bunks.  
  
“You coming Lou?” Niall asked   
  
Louis was still caught up in his thoughts and hadn’t realized everyone had gotten up to go to bed.  
  
“Uh yeah, Nialler, be there in a minute.” He answered, still distracted.  
  
“Okay.” Niall replied as he continued in the direction of the bunks.

x  
  
The next morning Louis was the first one awake. He had been tossing and turning all night and had barely slept. He was half asleep with his head beginning to nod off into his untouched bowl of cereal when Harry walked in.  
  
“Louis!” Harry yelled.  
  
Louis jumped at the sound of Harry yelling his name and ended up knocking over his bowl of cereal and milk which went all over the table, the floor, and of course himself. Louis looked up to find Harry nearly in tears trying not to laugh, Louis just glared at him as he rose to begin the clean up.  
  
“What’s happening?” Niall asked as he ran from the bunk area in nothing but his boxers. Liam and Zayn followed behind him moments later both wearing trousers and no shirts.  
  
Upon seeing Louis the three of them burst into laughter causing Harry to give in and start finally laughing as well.   
  
“I’m going to shower and change. Harry can explain what happened while he cleans up this mess.” Louis told them as he headed for the shower.  
  
Louis wasn’t sure why his being gay was suddenly all he could think about. It had always been like this and it was only starting to really bother him **now**. Nothing had changed as far as he knew and no one had noticed anything different about him, so what was the problem?  
  
He decided he would talk to Stan that night and see if he could help...after all he was the only one that knew Louis was gay.


	2. Heart Attack

“I don’t know man, maybe it’s just the weather?” Stan suggested that evening over the phone after Louis had explained what was going on.

“How the Hell does the weather make sense?” Louis argued.

“It’s just started getting hot enough to be classified as summer and people are hotter in summer weather, they wear fewer clothes at least"

“What are you getting at?” Louis asked.

“Have any of the lads been shirtless lately? Maybe you’re developing a crush? They are all pretty fit now, not that they weren’t before …” Stan told him.

“No way! There is no crushing going on at all. I have to go get some sleep; it’s been a long day. Night Stan.”

“Yeah, Yeah, whatever. Night Lou."

Louis spent the majority of that night the same as last, laying awake in his bunk thinking. 

  
Stan was being absurd, he was **not** crushing on anyone- _especially_ not one of his best mates. He would never fall for a friend like that; well except for Stan...but that was a few years ago and in his defence Stan was just as into it as he was!

Who even out of the lads would he have a crush on? Louis wondered. **Clearly** they were all attractive but none of them were really his type...

Harry was sweet and a great guy but he was too much of a player to actually reciprocate any real feelings.

Niall was so funny and cute but he was much too innocent for Louis and he could have his shy moments.

With Zayn there was just no romantic chemistry, he’s attractive and all but there would be no spark.

And sure, Liam’s hot and is a funny, goofy guy...but he also knows when to be mature and he could balance Louis out! But isn’t… well he just couldn’t…because he always…he just…

Louis shot up in his bed at his sudden realization.

“Oh shit.”


	3. C'mon, C'Mon

“Are you okay Louis?” Harry asked, concerned by Louis’ outburst.  
  
“Um, yeah, good…I’m fine.” Louis answered in monotone voice.  
  
There was no way that out of all the lads Liam was the one he would be crushing on. It’s not that Liam wasn’t attractive or a great guy; just that they hadn’t always seen eye-to-eye in the past. They got along just fine now, but still, there used to be conflict and _come on_ , even their ship name was weird, like honestly _‘LiLo’_ was a stupid name for a bromance!

  
After a few minutes of trying to find problems with his crush on Liam he had to admit he was just looking for excuses.  
  
By the next morning Louis had gotten about three hours total of sleep. He had also figured out that there was no way around it; He was definitely crushing on Liam.  
  
Today he was not the first one awake he discovered as he walked into the living room area to find Harry and Niall lounging on the couch with their legs all tangled together in a mess of limbs. Louis couldn’t help but think it was a shame those two weren’t gay because they would make an absolutely adorable couple. He didn’t care what the _Larry Stylinson_ shippers would think, he was **all for** _Narry Storan!_  
  
“Problem Boo-Bear?” Niall asked.  
  
Louis hadn’t realized he was just standing in front of the two lads staring at them, and neither had Harry until Niall mentioned it.  
  
“No, no problem. You two look comfy though.” Louis smirked.  
  
Harry and Niall simultaneously looked towards their intertwined legs causing Niall to blush and Harry to smirk and laugh out an excuse about needing to touch each other. Yeah, _the young and the innocent_ was a near accurate description of the two, Louis thought as he walked towards the kitchen area to get some breakfast.  
  
He was in the middle of making toast when Zayn strolled in, laughing.  
  
“You ever notice how easy it is to make Nialler blush?” Zayn started.  
  
“Yeah, especially around Hazz, you’d think he had a crush!” Louis replied laughing.  
  
“Who has a crush?” Liam asked, walking in and joining their conversation.  
  
Louis hadn’t seen him walk in and ended up dropping his plate of toast at his accusing tone. Everyone stopped what they were doing as Harry and Niall ran into the kitchen to see Louis standing barefoot with glass surrounding his feet, his head hanging forward with a blush spreading across his cheeks and turning his whole face red.  
  
“Sorry mate, I didn’t mean to startle you!” Liam exclaimed rushing to grab the broom to sweep up the broken plate surrounding Louis’ bare feet.  
  
“It’s fine Liam, OW!” Louis yelled stepping on a piece of plate while trying to leave the room.  
  
“Here Lou, you guys sweep this up.” Liam said grabbing Louis’ hand and helping him hobble over to a chair so he could look at his hurt foot.  
  
Liam had gotten the first aid kit and was now kneeling in front of Louis with tweezers attempting to get the glass out of his foot. It wasn’t going well since Louis kept fidgeting at the thought of Liam that close to him.  
  
“Geez! Boo-bear, it won’t hurt if you stay still…” Liam mumbled.  
  
“Yes it will…OW!” Louis yelled as Liam finally got the glass out.  
  
“See, no sweat Lou. I’ll even kiss it better if it will make you feel better.” Liam laughed.  
  
“I have to get changed!” Louis exclaimed loudly as he ran to the other end of the tour bus tripping at least three times on his way to the bunks.  
  
He couldn’t help but wonder if Liam saw how badly he was blushing when he joked about kissing him.   
  
“Stupid crush…” Louis thought out loud.


	4. Does He Know

It’s fine. He doesn’t know. No one knows. I’m being paranoid, that’s it: just paranoia.  
  
Louis was trying to calm himself down and even out his breathing enough to leave the bunk area and go back into the main area with everyone else.  
  
“You alright in there, Lou?”  
  
Louis jumped at the sound of Harry’s voice. Louis looked at his watch realizing he had been pacing for nearly ten minutes.  
  
“I’ll be out in a second.” Louis answered.  
  
Harry didn’t bother waiting; he just opened the door and walked in sitting himself on Niall’s bunk.  
  
“Hazz! I could have been changing!”  
  
“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before!” he laughed.  
  
“Whatever…”   
  
“So what’s been bugging you, Lou?”  
  
“Nothing, why?” Louis said instantly.  
  
“Well aside from being all suspicious about everything we say, you’ve been acting kind of weird lately. You can tell me you know, if it’s something any of us has done we’ll fix it. Just stop distancing yourself from all of us.”  
  
“That’s probably the sweetest thing you have ever said to me Hazza.” Louis chuckled.  
  
“Then you shouldn’t avoid the question.” Harry told him seriously.  
  
“I’m fine, I’m not distancing myself it’s just personal stuff no big deal though.” Louis stated absentmindedly as he left the bunks and headed to the kitchen to grab a proper breakfast. Leaving behind Harry and the awkward line of questioning.  
  
Reaching in the cupboard he picked out a box of Nesquick and started eating from the box figuring there was no need for a broken bowl as well.  
  
“You can use a bowl mate; I doubt you’ll drop that too. I promise I won’t sneak up on you if you do.” Liam commented laughing.  
  
“Yeah, well just to be safe I guess.” Louis said blushing madly.  
  
“Your choice. I prefer to eat my cereal with milk personally, though I suppose I have no right to judge, since I also eat it with a fork.” Liam gestured to his now empty bowl of cereal as he told Louis this.  
  
Louis blushed again once he realized he was making a mental note of how Liam likes to eat his cereal. He was much deeper into this crush then he had initially thought.  
  
He continued to blush as Liam walked out of the room until he noticed that Harry was standing by the table with a smirk. He then realized Harry had been watching him and Liam the entire time. Watching his wild blushing, like a crazed lunatic, avoiding Liam’s face and eyes and anything else that could trigger more inappropriate blushing.  
  
Could Harry have figured it out? No, no, no…he couldn’t have… However the wink Harry sent him just before he turned to leave told Louis he **did** know something.


	5. Midnight Memories

The day had started out awkwardly and hadn’t gotten much better. Every time Liam talked to him Louis would blush or stammer out his response weakly, he was normally so confident when he spoke and it was driving him crazy that one little crush was changing that.  
  
He was more worried that the lads would start to take notice. Liam was starting to, and he knew Harry already had. Any small amount of contact that happened between him and Liam had (whether it was physical or verbal) had Harry sending Louis little gestures like winks or nods which always came with a smug smirk.  
  
Louis knew he had to talk with Harry once they were back on the bus, he just wasn’t sure if Harry could keep his mouth shut about it until then. He also hoped that Liam would just leave him be for now, he clearly couldn’t joke around with him until he had sorted out his crush and started acting normally or, even better, gotten over the whole thing.  
  
The day had gone on normally with minimal embarrassment for Louis though he nearly knocked over a few guitars when Liam had jokingly called him love. Now he was waiting outside the bathroom door for Harry to finish his shower so he could pull him aside and talk to him without the rest of the lads seeing.   
  
Once the shower turned off Louis only waited another minute or two before the door opened and he grabbed Harry’s arm pulling him to the top level of the bus to talk privately.  
  
“Geez Lou, you could have waited!” Harry told him while gesturing to the fact that his hair was hanging on his face sending drops of water down his face and neck and down his chest… his bare chest. Harry was wearing nothing but the low riding towel Louis had assumed he used to dry his hair considering the rest of his body was still glistening from the left over water of his shower.  
  
“I…uh…sorry.” Just because Louis wasn’t into Harry like that didn’t mean he didn’t find the other man extremely attractive

“I needed to talk with you though. It’s important.” He continued.  
  
“Go for it.” Harry said sitting down on the smaller couch they had up there. If he had been any more comfortable Louis would have been able to see up his towel.  
  
“The looks you’ve been giving me today and the smirk. What do you think you know?”   
  
“Well I can see that you have a thing for Liam. So that means you’re gay, right?” Harry asked smiling, proud of himself for figuring it out.  
  
“If I do and I am what does that mean for us?” Louis asked seriously.  
  
“Look Lou, I know there’s that whole _Larry Stylinson_ thing going on but I’m not into you that way, so I’m totally fine with you and Liam getting together.” Harry rushed while quickly closing his legs that had fallen open and sitting up properly on the couch.  
  
Louis laughed, a full laugh that had him bent at the knees gasping for breath. He looked up at Harry and a new wave of laughter came over him at the confusion he saw in Harry’s eyes.  
  
“Calm down mate, I’m not in love with you or anything like that. I meant what does it mean for our friendship, we still good?” Louis explained while still chuckling.   
  
“Of course we’re good! You’re my best mate!” Harry nearly yelled while hugging Louis tightly to him.  
  
“Uh…Harry” Louis said awkwardly as he broke away from the hug gesturing to the fact that Harry was still in his towel which was starting to ride quite low on his hips.  
  
“Oh, at least it’s still on. Is my body too hot for you to handle Lou?” Harry said sassily while winking in Louis’ direction.  
  
“Just go get changed Hazz…” Louis laughed smiling at his best friend.


	6. Stole My Heart

Coming down the stairs with Harry half naked had all the boys staring at them. True, it probably looked bad but they were known for doing weird and random things which oddly enough had ended in Harry naked before, though it was usually caused by a dare.  
  
The boys dismissed any thoughts on it and continued with what they were doing.  
  
“Hey Liam, Lou can’t remember the schedule for this week, can you go over it with him?” Harry asked smiling cheekily at Louis who was now glaring at him.  
  
“Sure, I have it upstairs. C’mon Louis.” Liam said gesturing for him to go back up.  
  
Liam had been going over the schedule day by day explaining each event in detail while Louis was sitting at the opposite end of the couch slightly leaning over. He was distracted and wasn’t even paying attention. He knew he probably should though considering he didn’t actually know what the schedule was. But Liam smelled way too good for Louis to concentrate on anything else.  
  
“Are you even listening?” Liam asked chuckling.  
  
“Of course I am.”  
  
“Really? Cause I asked you several questions and you’ve just been smiling to yourself.” Liam commented still amused.  
  
“I have?” Louis question nervously.  
  
“Yeah. You alright Lou? You seem kind of off lately, is something bothering you?”  
  
“Yeah.” Louis agreed trying to think of something witty to say that would change the subject

“Cereal.”  
  
“Cereal?” Liam questioned sarcastically.  
  
“Yeah cereal. We don’t have my favorite kind, how am I supposed to go about my day normally without my favorite cereal?”  
  
“You’re really something else Lou.” Liam laughed.  
  
They continued on with the schedule with Liam giving un-needed details while constantly telling Louis to move closer so he could see. Louis was still distracted though and having Liam move to sit directly beside him wasn’t helping. It was the way he told him he was something else, Louis knew it meant nothing but it was about what it could mean. If he was dating Liam that sentence would have been a compliment, and probably followed by a kiss. That’s what he couldn’t stop thinking about; kissing Liam.  
  
It was yet another sleepless night for Louis. He couldn’t get Liam out of his head; it was like he was becoming an obsessive fan girl over the younger lad.   
  
It was hard for even him to believe he was the oldest considering he couldn’t even control his thoughts or emotions.   
  
x

“God damnit.” Louis stated as he got out of bed to head to the living area.  
  
He grabbed his phone on his way and had already started dialing Stan’s number.   
  
“Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up… Stan!”   
  
“Louis? What’s wrong isn’t it late where you are?” Stan asked confused.  
  
“It’s like 4AM but I didn’t know what else to do!”  
  
“You okay man?”  
  
“No. I like him I mean I really like him. It’s taking over my life and I don’t know what to do about it. I can’t talk to the guys, Harry knows but it’s not like he would really understand this stuff!” Louis babbled.  
  
“What are you talking about Louis? You sound crazy!”  
  
“I am!” Louis took a deep breath before trying to explain what was going on

“It’s Liam. You were right before when you said I had a crush on one of the guys, I do…” Louis said shakily.  
  
“Seriously? I would have thought Harry. So you told Harry?”  
  
“Yeah, but he couldn’t help with this, he’s not gay, so what should I do?”   
  
“Duh! Tell him, that boy is damn fine and you could use that in your life. Plus he’s a good person and stuff.” Stan exclaimed making Louis laugh.  
  
Not much got accomplished by calling Stan but Louis had to admit it did make him feel better to be able to talk about it with no judgement to someone who understands him.   
  
He decided he might as well have an early morning snack since he was already up.  
  
Louis went into the kitchen cupboard to grab cereal when he noticed a new box. He grabbed it to see it was a box of _Special K_ which happened to be his favorite. He saw a note attached to the side of the box, ripping it off it read:  


  
_Hey Boo Bear.  
I know the cereal isn’t what’s really bugging you but I know _ Special K _is your favorite so I thought buying you some might help. You can come and talk to me whenever you need to._  
Love,  
Liam

 _-_  
  
Louis was sure his smile was reaching his eyes by the end of the note. Liam was the sweetest guy ever, no _wonder_ Louis was in love with him.  
  
WAIT love? Louis paused what he was doing as he went over his thoughts. He couldn’t be in love with Liam they weren’t even dating and Liam wasn’t even gay.  
  
Louis decided now was not the time to think about it. Instead he was just going to sit and eat his _Special K_ while wondering how Liam knew it was his favorite and gushing over Liam’s handwriting and the way he signed the note.  
  
_“Love Liam”_ Louis sighed happily smiling like an idiot while staring at the note.


	7. Over Again

It was nearly two hours before anyone else woke up. Louis had tidied up the kitchen and living room areas as well as straightened up the top level.  
  
“Wow mate, couldn’t sleep?” Liam asked as he walked up to the second level.  
  
Louis jumped out of his skin hearing the other lad’s voice. He had been throwing everyone’s clothes into a big laundry basket he had found, the basket was now on the floor with the clothes piling out having dropped it when Liam came in.  
  
“Here, I’ll help.” Liam offered as he bent down and started scooping clothes into the basket “I didn’t mean to startle you.”  
  
“It’s fine. You’re right, I couldn’t sleep.” Louis smiled realizing he was actually having a normal conversation with Liam.  
  
They went on cleaning for a little while longer, they chatted slightly as they cleaned but mostly they just enjoyed the silence and the company.  
  
It wasn’t until Louis had bent over to straighten up a pile of papers that Liam started talking again.  
  
“Is that my note?”  
  
Louis spun around quickly realizing the note Liam had attached to the cereal had fallen from his back pocket and was now on the floor between them.  
  
“Course not. It must have fallen from this that pile of papers.” Louis said gesturing to the pile he had now discarded in the corner.  
  
Liam picked it up before Louis had the chance to grab it. He opened it and looked up at Louis confused.  
  
“Why was it in your pocket? Why didn’t you want me to know?” Liam asked.  
  
“I forgot it was there. I was cleaning downstairs and put it in my pocket I guess.” Louis told him nervously.  
  
Louis was hoping Liam didn’t look at it in detail because he had drawn hearts around Liam’s name and even though he erased them you would be able to tell if you really looked.  
  
“Oh.” Liam said looking over the note “Did you draw hearts on it?”   
  
“No!” Louis yelled abruptly “I mean really Liam? Why would I do that?” Louis laughed nervously.  
  
“Well cause there’s hearts on the paper and I didn’t put them there.”  
  
“Must have been a prank by the guys.”  
  
“But I went to bed after everyone else and did it then.” Liam stated confused.  
  
“Well geez, Liam I don’t know just leave it!” Louis said with a short temper.  
  
Louis stomped past him and grabbed the note pocketing it before walking downstairs. He faintly heard Liam mumble sorry as he descended down the staircase.

x  
  
Why had he grabbed the note? What made him grab the note? Louis continually asked these questions over and over again in his head while he sat in a corner of the bus they rarely used sifting the note through his fingers.  
  
While he was doing this Liam was sitting on the couch on the top level thinking similar thoughts as Louis but mostly he was wondering what the hell was going on with Louis that would make him snap like that and draw hearts by his name?


	8. Tell Me A Lie

It had been nearly an hour since Louis had went to sit in the corner.   
  
He had decided that enough was enough! He was **done** with this crush. There was no way he was ever going to be able to tell Liam about his feelings so he was simply going to ignore them. He figured it wouldn’t be that hard considering he didn’t even know about the crush himself until a few days ago.  
  
Liam had been staring at a copy he made of the note for nearly a half hour when he heard someone coming up the stairs.  
  
“Wow what happened in here?”   
  
“It’s called cleaning Z.” Liam told him flatly.  
  
“Oh. You okay?” Zayn asked concerned at Liam’s mood.  
  
“I guess. Have you noticed Lou acting weird lately?” Liam questioned.  
  
“How so?” Zayn asked scrunching his eyebrows.  
  
“He’s kind of distancing himself from me and just I don’t know, I’m over-reacting I guess.” Liam mumbled distracted.  
  
“Well, have you two been fighting or something?”   
  
“No not for a while now, and it’s always blown over the next day. I think he’s confused though.” Liam said handing Zayn the copy of the note he made.  
  
“He’s upset you bought him cereal?” Zayn asked confused.  
  
“Look closer at my name.”  
  
“Hearts? That’s how Lou draws his hearts, why did he draw hearts by your name?” Zayn asked, his eyes widening with each question.  
  
“Technically, I copied that note but yeah he drew hearts. I’m not sure why exactly but there isn’t a whole lot it could mean.” Liam shrugged.  
  
“Maybe he’s just trying to get over his break-up with El?” Zayn suggested.  
  
“That was months ago Z and I’m positive he’s moved on. He went back to normal after that week of crying.” Liam said remembering that week vividly one thing standing out the most.

x  
  
_Flashback:_  
  
Liam had been sitting with Harry watching movies for the afternoon when Louis came in, his eyes were red and puffy and he didn’t even acknowledge Liam or Harry.   
  
That was the last time he or any of the other boys saw Louis for days. But they could hear him crying at night, the walls were fairly thin in that apartment complex and Louis had been full-on sobbing most nights.   
  
A couple nights later, Liam used his spare key to go into Louis and Harry’s apartment and went directly to Louis’ door knocking lightly.  
  
“Louis let me in.” Liam whispered trying not to disturb Harry who was somehow sleeping through the noise.  
  
Louis stopped sobbing and unlocked the door. When Liam opened it he was back on his bed with the covers over his shoulders.  
  
“Come sit with me Li.” Louis whispered.  
  
“I’m so sorry Boo-Bear.” Liam whispered hugging Louis as he sat down beside him.   
  
The boys had figured out Eleanor had broken up with Louis during their date where she told him he wasn’t worth the effort of dating. The lads knew dating in their situation was hard but they all thought that Eleanor had really understood Louis and that they were happy together.  
  
“I’m not happy.” Louis said sternly.  
  
“I know, babe.” Liam couldn’t help but chuckle at Louis’ statement as it was clearly obvious the older boy was upset.  
  
“I thought we were happy, I thought everything was going well. I thought she was the one, Liam, The only girl I actually had feelings for. I thought it was my one chance at normal! My only chance to like a girl but I was wrong and now everything’s back to being confusing…” Louis huffed.  
  
Liam was slightly confused at his sentence but he ignored it in favor of helping Louis move on.  
  
They spent the rest of that night cuddling while Liam whispered to Louis that it would be okay. He also sang to him a few times by Louis’ request.   
  
By the time morning hit neither one had gotten any sleep but Louis was starting to feel a little better. It took him just a few days and a couple more nights of sobbing to start talking with the rest of the boys and come out of his room.  
A little over a week later he was back to being his old self.  
  
End of flashback

 _x  
_  
Liam jumped up immediately completely ignoring whatever Zayn had been saying to him.  
  
The only girl he had feelings for? His chance at being normal? Back to being confused?  
  
**_Louis was gay!_**  
  
“Oh my god!” Liam shouted rushing down the stairs and to the one place he could be alone to think.

  
The bathroom.


	9. Little White Lies

Louis was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a door slam shut. He decided if he was really going to move on he needed to get up and carry on with life.  
  
He walked into the kitchen just as Niall and Harry entered the room both half asleep and shirtless.  
  
“What was that bang?” Niall asked yawning.  
  
Louis shrugged absentmindedly not really caring what the noise had been. He reached in the cupboard to grab some cereal, instinctively grabbing the _Special K_. Once in his hand he paused holding the box in the air debating on having some or not.  
  
After second guessing himself he pushed the box back into place grabbing the loaf of bread instead. He took out two slices and put them in the toaster before turning around.  
  
Harry was watching him amused. Louis just rolled his eyes and went back to watching his toast crisp.  
  
It had been another hour and all the boys were ready to head out for their first of two interviews for the day.  
  
They were currently watching Niall jump up and down by the bathroom and banging on the door.  
  
“Come on Liam! I have to go; you’ve been in there all morning!” Niall yelled but yet again got no response.  
  
It was true that Liam hadn’t come out of the bathroom since he locked himself in there a few hours before, every so often he would make a noise like flushing the toilet or turning on and off the shower but he never came out.  
  
“Want some more water Ni? You must be thirsty judging by the amount you were drinking earlier.”  
  
“Yeah Ni that was a lot of liquid. More than your little body could take, I bet.”  
  
Zayn and Harry had been teasing Niall like that for the better part of the last half hour while turning on and off the taps.  
  
“Quit it guys!” Niall said bouncing.  
  
The bathroom lock clicked open and before Liam even opened the door Niall had yanked it from his hand and ran in without bothering to shut the door or even kick Liam out. Needless to say all the boys were laughing at Liam’s look of confusion and shock.  
  
“Come on guys, time to go.” Paul said as he walked onto the tour bus and over to the boys.  
  
“Give me a minute!” Niall yelled from the bathroom.  
  
Paul raised an eyebrow at the rest of the boys while throwing them a questioning look as he realized the bathroom door was wide open and he could hear the sound of Niall peeing.  
  
“Anyone want to explain that?” Paul asked pointing a finger in the direction of the bathroom.  
  
The boys all shook their heads innocently as they made their way to the door of the bus.

 

x  
  
The car ride to the radio station was awkward to say the least.  
  
The only one talking was Niall and all he was doing was chastising Liam for taking so long in the bathroom. Harry was trying to watch both Louis and Liam at the same time while Liam was glancing every so often at Louis.

Zayn was off in his own world trying to piece together what was going on and Louis was avoiding eye contact with everyone also deep in his own thoughts.  
  
The interview itself wasn’t much better. No one was interacting with each other. They were just answering the questions directed at them and leaving the general questions up to Niall who seemed more than happy to answer them.   
  
Since it was just over the radio it didn’t matter too much that no one would look at anyone else.  
  
The second interview they were doing was on TV so they were told to act as they normally would despite whatever was causing the tension. They were lined up waiting for their names to be called in the order that they were told to sit on the couch. So it went Harry, Zayn, Liam, Louis, and Niall. Niall was happy cause he and Louis always joked around when they sat together but Louis was slightly uncomfortable about sitting next to Liam, he decided to just do as he planned and ignore the situation.  
  
Everyone answered questions normally and joked around a bit, mostly Niall and Louis though who was now outright ignoring Liam’s existence.  
  
The concert that evening went the same. Everyone was back to acting normal except Louis who was still ignoring Liam and now Zayn who was acting weird with Louis. Anytime they were supposed to be close to each other Zayn was on the opposite side of the stage and he wouldn’t even joke around with Louis as they passed by each other which was something the two often did.  
  
“What was going on today? Did you all suddenly forget you have four other band members? You guys do have cues to follow out there and spots you need to be in for certain songs.” Paul stated furiously.  
  
The boys all looked at one another realizing they had screwed up the concert even though the fans didn’t seem to mind.   
  
Paul continued his lecture for another little bit until they were told a path was cleared for them to get on the bus.

Everyone went off to do their own thing. Louis went to sit in the kitchen and wait for his turn to shower. Harry went with him and sat down across from him.  
  
“Did something happen between you and Liam?”  
  
“Like what?” Louis asked confused.  
  
“I don’t know, did you maybe tell him?” Harry asked trying to approach the subject gently.  
  
“Tell him what Hazz?”  
  
“That you fancy him.” Harry whispered.  
  
“I don’t fancy Liam. That would be weird.”  
  
“What?” Harry’s face contorted in confusion “You told me you did though.”  
  
“You must’ve been dreaming Hazza, cause I’m not into guys!”  
  
“But you are! You told me you were! Remember I was wearing just a towel, we were on the top level talking…” Harry stressed his words trying to convince Louis of the events that took place.  
  
“You were in a towel? Well I’ve heard you don’t think clearly when you’re naked so maybe it’s all in your head.” Louis stated as he got up to go shower.  
  
“But…no…it happened. I was there!” Harry mumbled to himself.  
  
“You were where Hazz?” Niall asked coming into the room shirtless yet again.  
  
“I don’t know…” Harry trailed off “And do you **_ever_** wear a shirt?” He asked leaving to go to the top level to think.  
  
Niall was left standing there alone confused as to what was going on and why the hell did Harry care if he was wearing a shirt? Oh well.  
  
During all this Zayn had managed to catch only the first part of Harry and Louis conversation, he stopped after gaining the knowledge he had been seeking. Louis fancied Liam, he even told Harry about it. He left after that not wanting to know any details; he just couldn’t believe one of his best friends was gay.

  
And if he was being honest with himself he wasn’t sure how okay he was with it…


	10. Best Song Ever

They still had a full day left of driving before they got to the next concert destination, which meant no stops along the way.  
  
Everyone was doing their own thing while lounging about the bus. Niall was playing his guitar, Harry was on twitter and no one knew where Zayn had gone.  
  
“Hey Lou, do you want to go work on that song we started?” Liam asked cautiously.  
  
“Um…” Louis paused, trying to think of an excuse he could use but since he was just sitting there he didn’t have much of a choice

“Sure.” He muttered.  
  
The pair walked down to the bottom level after grabbing their notebook of song ideas. Everyone else was on the second level except Zayn who they now assumed was taking a nap.  
  
“So where did we leave off?” Liam mumbled as he looked through the used pages of the book.  
  
They continued writing down ideas and even had the lyrics written for the chorus. It was quiet while they worked aside from the basic chatter of what lyrics worked best and who they would work best for.

They were now arguing over whom would sing a certain lyric that Louis and Liam had both worked on.  
  
“It’s a sweet tone so I think it should be Niall.” Liam told Louis.  
  
“I can see it as Harry’s though. He could elongate the notes better I think.” Louis argued.  
  
“Well then let’s see. Hazza! Nialler! Come here!” Liam shouted.  
  
The two lads ran down the stairs immediately upon hearing their names.  
  
“You bellowed?” Niall asked.   
  
“We need you two to each sing a lyric. We’re not sure who should sing it on the recording , so we want to see how it sounds with each of your voices.” Louis explained handing the two younger lads the paper.  
  
They decided Harry would sing first and then Niall.  
  
_“When I look into your eyes all the pain is gone. No longer drowning, I am above the water now. I can only breathe when you’re around…”_ Harry sang.  
  
“I like this, who wrote it?” Niall asked.

  
“Both, but mostly Louis though…I just helped tie it together.” Liam smiled at Louis.  
  
“Oh really?” Harry asked winking suggestively at Louis and smirking at the blush he received.   
  
Seeing the blush was enough to give away Louis’ act of moving on, Harry knew he wasn’t crazy and that Lou really did have feelings for Liam.  
  
Liam shooed the other two away, letting them know they would decide later about who would seen on the track and tell them once they finished the song.  
  
“What was that about?” Liam asked regarding Harry’s comment.  
  
“I’m not sure. Just Hazz being Hazz I guess…” Louis shrugged hoping his blush wasn’t too noticeable.   
  
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the note.” Liam mentioned nonchalantly as they started writing again.  
  
**_“Why?”_** Louis asked panicking enough to drop his pencil.  
  
Liam chuckled leaning down to grab Louis’ pencil and giving Louis a nice view of his flexing muscles.  
  
“You’re staring, mate.” Liam said to Louis, still chuckling.  
  
“I’m not!” Louis told him shyly turning the other way.  
  
“You were so.”  
  
Liam grabbed Louis’ chin turning his head to face him.   
  
“Talk to me Boo-bear.”

  
“I can’t…” Louis whispered mesmerized by Liam’s soft brown eyes.  
  
“Louis, I think I know.” Liam replied softly.  
  
“You don’t.” Louis said trying to move his head but Liam just tightened his grip, so he settled for just looking down.  
  
“Are you gay, Louis?”  
  
Louis’ heart stopped.  
  
“I…”  
  
**_*CRASH*_**


	11. Stand Up

Liam and Louis instinctively jumped up and ran to the second level where the noise had come from.   
  
They were greeted by the site of Harry and Niall rolling around on the floor shirtless with the couch turned over. They assumed the flipped couch was the source of the noise.  
  
Liam (always the mediator) nudged Louis and pointed to the other lads signaling to break up the fight.

Louis grabbed Harry while Liam grabbed Niall pulling the two away from each other.  
  
“What’s going on up here?” Liam asked, annoyed at the interruption.  
  
“I was winning the fight.” Harry stated.  
  
“I don’t think so Styles.” Niall commented.  
  
“I meant why were you fighting?” Liam sighed frustrated.  
  
“Niall thought he was stronger but he was wrong!”   
  
“No I was right! I’m stronger!”  
  
“So why are you shirtless?” Louis asked confused.  
  
“Bigger muscles if you’re stronger!” Niall shrugged like it was obvious.  
  
“And as for the couch?” Liam asked looking at Niall although it was Harry who answered.  
  
“It got in the way.”   
  
They let the two boys go as they started calming down telling them to clean up their mess.  
  
“So did you tell him?” Harry asked curiously.  
  
Louis looked over at Liam who was watching the two interact.  
  
“No…” Louis sighed and walked over to Liam.  
  
“I don’t feel like writing anymore, I’m going to take a nap.”  
  
As he was walking into the bunk area Zayn was walking out.  
  
“Hey man.” Louis said smiling, realizing Zayn had nothing to do with the situation he was currently in.  
  
“Hi.” Zayn mumbled quickly not looking at Louis.  
  
Well that was weird, Louis thought as he continued to his bunk.  
  
Louis lay in his bed for a while just thinking. He tried to sleep but with everything going on it was nearly impossible. Would it really be so bad if Liam knew? He knew Liam wouldn’t feel the same way obviously but maybe if his feelings were out in the open then he would stop acting so awkward about the whole thing. But on the other hand if he came out about his feelings towards Liam that meant telling people he was gay and that’s something he’d never really been able to do before.   
  
But there was a first time for everything. He got up and went to find Liam.  
  
“Hey Li?” Louis called once he found Liam in the kitchen area with Niall.  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone, sorry Ni.” Louis said shyly.  
  
“Of course.” Liam said following Louis to the bunk area.  
  
After Louis made sure no one was around he sat on the floor in front of Niall’s bunk which was right below his.  
  
He sighed, wanting to tell Liam his whole story, looking anywhere but at Liam.   
  
Liam sat beside him and pulled him into a hug.  
  
“I didn’t want to tell anybody. I never really have either, Stan and Harry figured it out for themselves and I just went along with it.”  
  
“So tell me then.” Liam smiled.  
  
“But you already know.” Louis said confused.  
  
“Yeah, but you need to say it”  
  
“I… I can’t.” Louis whispered.  
  
“But I already know.” Liam smiled grabbing Louis’ hand in his.  
  
“I’m gay. I like boys. I like you.” Louis said slowly trying to judge Liam’s reaction.  
  
“That wasn’t so hard Lou.” Liam smiled not reacting to what Louis said “you can tell any of us anything, we’re your friends we won’t judge you.”  
  
“Yeah my friends…” Louis repeated sadly.  
  
Liam hugged Louis one final time then walked out of the room saying that if he stayed any longer Niall would get suspicious and worried.   
  
“Friend…” Louis repeated again wiping the tears from his eyes.  
  
He pulled out his phone and dialed Stan’s number.  
  
“He called me his friend. I told him and he called me his friend.” Louis said the tears evident in his voice.  
  
“Awww love it’s okay, you’ll be fine”. Stan told him softly.  
  
“No I won’t how am I supposed to face him? Any of them?”  
  
“You need me to come over babe?”  
  
“You do realize I’m a few plane rides away right?”  
  
“You do realize you’re worth it though?” Stan countered “I’ll be up in a couple days. I’m using your credit card by the way.”  
  
Louis laughed and ended the conversation.   
  
He smiled at the thought of seeing Stan again, it had been months since he saw him last. He figured he should get off the floor now and go tell the other lads that Stan would be coming to visit.


	12. Summer Love

“Louis!”  
  
“Stan!”  
  
The two boys ran at each other and hugged in the middle of the parking lot that the bus was parked in.  
  
“Hey guys!” Stan greeted the other lads who had been standing around Louis before he had ran off.  
  
There was a chorus of ‘hellos’ from the boys before everyone walked back to the bus so they wouldn’t be mobbed by fans.  
  
“So, how are you doing?” Stan asked later, once they were alone and after they had spent time talking with everyone.  
  
“Fine.” Louis lied.  
  
“Really? Cause you won’t even look at Liam and he isn’t looking your way either.”  
  
“Gee thanks for reminding me.” Louis sighed.  
  
“I meant eye contact babe.” Stan clarified.  
  
“I can’t look at him now; I thought it was hard when he didn’t know but its way worse now.”  
  
Stan pulled Louis into a hug and just held him.  
  
“You’ll be alright, he isn’t worth your tears, nobody is.” Stan comforted him.  
  
The night went on much like that, the two stayed up on the second level on the pull-out couch where Louis decided he was going to stay for the remainder of Stan’s stay.  
  
The next morning they were talking again after Louis had finally gotten a decent amount of sleep.  
  
“Enough about my issues. Have you got your eye on anyone?” Louis asked changing the subject and switching the attention off himself.  
  
“Not really.” Stan shrugged.  
  
“Oh come on, what happened to that girl you fancied?”  
  
“One night type of deal, wish she would have told me before it happened though.” Stan laughed, “Though after coming here I wouldn’t mind getting a lesson or two on Ireland.”  
  
“Niall, really?” Louis chuckled.  
  
“Have you seen that guy with his shirt off? He is fit.”  
  
“Yeah I have, considering he barely wears one.”  
  
“I may just have to extend my stay then.”  
  
“Hey guys, what are we talking about?” Harry asked coming into the room.  
  
“Niall’s fine ass!” Stan told him smirking.  
  
Harry was quiet just staring at Stan while Louis laughed at the exchange between his two best friends.  
  
“Harry, did I ever tell you that Stan’s bisexual?”  
  
“Nope.” Harry smiled adjusting quickly to the new information.  
  
“I bet he never told you we used to date either.”  
  
“Stan!” Louis scorned.  
  
“You two dated?” Harry questioned with widening eyes.  
  
“Yeah we did. For a summer when we were sixteen.” Louis said looking at Stan who seemed to be remembering the summer just as he was.  
  
x

  
_“Your parents’ home?” Louis asked Stan once he answered his phone.  
  
“Nope, they just left, you coming over?”  
  
“Course, be there soon.” Louis smiled ending the call.  
  
It had been a couple weeks since he and Stan had decided to start dating. Both had known the other was into guys. Stan was into both boys and girls, Louis barely noticed any girls but he always noticed attractive guys so he supposed he was gay and had occasional flings with girls.  
  
“Hi babe.” Stan said opening the door to Louis.  
  
“Hey.”  
  
As Louis walked inside he turned around to face Stan and kissed him. Kissing Stan was one of his favorite things to do, no matter how many times they kissed it always felt like fireworks. Smiling the two pulled away and headed to the basement that Stan had set up as his bedroom.  
  
“Movie?” Louis suggested.  
  
“Only if we can cuddle…” Stan winked implying that cuddling would also involve a snogging session or two.  
  
“Whatever you want.” Louis smirked.  
  
And so they “cuddled” for the rest of the day, watching movie after movie.  
  
The summer went by like that with the two just being together with a few added “sleepovers”. They barely moved from each other’s sides that summer but they were 16 and happy so no one questioned them.  
_  
x  
  
“And yet you’re still good friends now?” Harry asked, bringing them out of their memories. “Isn’t it awkward?”  
  
“Nope, it’s not like we weren’t happy together but I guess it just wasn’t as “meant to be” as we thought considering going back to normal wasn’t hard.” Stan told him.  
  
“Yeah, we just decided that it was best to end it with the end of summer.” Louis said smiling sadly at the memory.  
  
x  
  
_“School in a couple days…” Stan stated on one of the last nights that Louis would be sleeping over._  
  
_“Yeah…” Louis sighed not wanting the summer to end. “What are we going to do?”_  
  
_“I like you Lou, but I don’t know how this will work out with school.” Stan sighed sadly._  
  
_“I was thinking the same thing, I mean, imagine if we got careless and the guys found out or our parents.”_  
  
_“Yeah, we’d be separated faster than we could blink!” Stan laughed._  
  
_“Night Boo.”_  
  
_“Night bunny.”_  
  
_Though after a few minutes of kissing good night, sleep was no longer on either boys mind…_  
  
_“Love you.” Louis said_  
  
_“I love you too.” Stan replied._  
  
x


	13. Don’t Forget Where You Belong (Part 1)

It had been about three days since Stan had arrived. Louis was happy he was still there because not only were things awkward with Liam but now Zayn had started avoiding him.  
  
“Well, did you ask him about it?” Stan asked one night as they were lying in bed.  
  
“Have you seen us interact lately? He goes out of his way to ignore me and when he can’t he doesn’t look at me.” Louis sighed.  
  
“Maybe he doesn’t want to upset you? I mean you have been a downer lately or he thinks you and Liam are fighting and he’s simply taking a side.”   
  
“Thanks man.” Louis said sarcastically “The boys tend to stay out of fights that aren’t theirs though so I doubt it.”  
  
“You should tell him, **all** of them.”  
  
“Are you insane?!” Louis yelled.  
  
“Just a suggestion, you can’t just ignore what you feel and they’re your friends so nothing will change!” Stan explained.  
  
“Maybe…” Louis answered hesitantly.  
  
“You were able to tell me though.”   
  
“Not really, you figured it out on your own I just confirmed it. I never sat you down and told you.”  
  
“Still, it would help ease the tension if more than just Harry and Liam knew.” Stan replied.  
  
“I guess you right.” Louis said cautiously.  
  
“It’s settled then. Boys come up here please!” Stan yelled.  
  
“Now?” Louis questioned with widening eyes.  
  
“No time like the present, besides no one but us went to bed yet.” Stan smiled wickedly.  
  
The boys came into the room sharing looks of confusion. They all found a place to sit or lean while Niall jumped onto the bed beside Stan waiting to see what was going on.  
  
“What did you need Stan?” Niall asked slinging his arm around the older boys’ shoulders.  
  
“Louis needs to tell you guys something important.”  
  
All eyes went to Louis who started to panic. How could Stan make him do this?  
  
“I wanted to tell you that… well I guess I needed…” Louis was stumbling over his words trying not to look anyone in the eyes.  
  
“You’re fine boo.” Stan said holding Louis’ hand.  
  
“I’m gay.” Louis said looking down at his hands.  
  
“Well duh.” Niall chuckled.  
  
All eyes went to Niall who look oblivious to everyone’s questioning looks.  
  
“How did you know?” Stan asked amused.  
  
“It wasn’t obvious?” Niall asked innocently.  
  
“I fucking hope not!” Louis answered sarcastically causing everyone to laugh and the tension in the room to dissolve.  
  
Zayn met Louis’ eyes before walking down the stairs.  
  
“Zayn wait!” Louis said grabbing Zayn’s arm as they reached the bottom of the stairs.  
  
Zayn jerked away pulling his arm from Louis’ grip as if it had burned him. Louis stared at Zayn hurt clearly evident in his features.   
  
“Is that why you were avoiding me? You found out?” Louis asked quietly not sure if he really wanted to know.  
  
Zayn didn’t answer, he simply looked away, as if he were annoyed that Louis was still talking to him.  
  
Louis’ phone went off signaling his mother was calling. He reached in his pocket to get it, looking up once more to see Zayn walking away before answering it.

 

x  
  
“She’s having the twins now?” Stan smiled.  
  
“Yeah, you think Paul will let me go home for a few days?”  
  
“Maybe, we do have a few days of just press and interviews so it’s possible if you beg enough.” Harry answered.  
  
After hours of begging and a couple days of concerts Paul had finally agreed to let Louis go home for a couple of days. So he and Stan were now on their way back to Doncaster to meet Louis’ new brother and sister.  
  
“Has he said anything at all to you?” Stan asked referring to Zayn.  
  
“Nothing, he won’t interact with me during concerts and won’t talk to me for interviews or even sit next to me-like he flat out refuses to sit next to me.” Louis sighed in frustration.  
  
“And how are things with Liam?”  
  
“Better than Zayn but it’s still awkward. He talks to me at least but he won’t mention the crush or anything revolving it. Why couldn’t they just act like Niall?”   
  
“Yeah now that it’s official news I don’t think he has asked you a single thing that didn’t revolve around it.” Stan laughed “Hell, he is so happy you’d think _he_ was the gay one.” Stan whispered the last part so as not to let anyone on the plane hear.  
  
“You never know, he could be.” Louis laughed at how Stan’s eyes lit up at that thought.  
  
The air hostess announced they would be landing in Doncaster momentarily. Louis let out a relieved sigh at being back home, he always hated being away from home and his family.  



	14. Don’t Forget Where You Belong (Part 2)

Stan and Louis went to Louis’ house immediately to see the twins. It was hard to believe he had two new siblings. He was more thinking of the fact that he would never really get to know them; that Ernest and Doris would only really get to see him as a celebrity as opposed to a brother. It definitely wasn’t something he wanted to happen but as long as there was One Direction people would see him that way and probably even long after the group had all gone their own ways.

  
Louis spent the remainder of that day and the following day catching up with his family. They pretty much sat around and talked about everything they could think of.  
  
Louis had the sudden realization that he never told his family that he was gay. Of course he had thought of it especially recently but it wasn’t something he could just come out and say. He knew they would be okay with it considering he had a gay cousin and his whole family had been really accepting. However he was still worried that it would be different if it was him coming out of the closet.  
  
He figured now was as good a time as any to come out seeing as he would be going back to touring soon and wouldn’t see them for a long while.  
  
“And which one of the boys made you realize this?” His mom asked teasing after he had finally said it.  
  
“I knew before, since I was like sixteen.” Louis blushed.  
  
“So which boy is it that’s making you blush?” Lottie teased.  
  
“Liam.” Louis sighed.  
  
“AWWWWWW!” Lottie and Louis’ mom said together.  
  
“Oh shut it.” Louis joked.  
  
The next day or so after went by similarly, just joking and talking and being a family. Louis realized just how much he had been missing home and just how he didn’t want to leave. He was telling his mom all this a couple nights before he was scheduled to go back on tour.  
  
“I know hunny and we miss you too but you can’t stay here, the boys need you, the world needs you” She smiled sadly.

  
“I guess. I just don’t want to go…” Louis sighed realizing he would be going back to fast meals, judging eyes and reality.  
  
The next afternoon Louis’ mom was calling for him to come down to the kitchen. She had a surprise for him. Louis ran down the stairs and into the kitchen stopping dead in his tracks.  
  
“What are you doing here?” Louis asked with wide eyes as he saw who was standing before him.  
  
“Your mom called Harry… and well, Harry sent me.” Liam replied.  
  
“Why?” Louis asked skeptically.  
  
“Cause we need to talk, I wasn’t being fair to you. Can we go for a walk or something?”  
  
“Yeah, we’ll be back later, mom.”  
  
“Take your time guys.” She replied smiling.  
  
After a short walk to the park a few blocks down the road the two boys sat on a bench that was the farthest from the play structure. It was pretty empty for a fall afternoon, just a few kids playing tag by the monkey bars.  
  
“So how were the interviews?” Louis asked to fill the silence.  
  
“Good, wasn’t the same without you but it went fine.”

  
“Good.” Louis replied.  
  
“I’m sorry for avoiding the situation. I heard what you said that night about liking me but I just didn’t know what to say…so I just didn’t say anything, but I guess that was kind of worse right?” Liam sighed.  
  
“Yeah, kind of.” Louis agreed.

 

“I’m sorry if my crush makes you uncomfortable.”  
  
“It does, but more because it made me think of things that I never thought of before. Never wanted to think of.”  
  
“Like what?” Louis asked cautiously.  
  
“I’ve never thought of liking a boy. What it would be like to date a guy or to kiss a boy, until you said you liked me.” Liam blushed.  
  
“I think it’s better than kissing a girl. Though I’m kind of biased I guess.” Louis chuckled causing Liam to laugh.  
  
“Would you? I mean like can we try, if I asked you would you? I mean like…”  
  
“You want me to kiss you?” Louis asked cutting Liam off.  
  
“Yes, I think so.”  
  
Louis moved closer to Liam, looking around to make sure nobody was watching and then leaned in even closer. Liam leaned in as well taking a shaky breath before scooting closer to Louis.  
  
_‘Best. Kiss. Ever._ ’ Louis thought as he pulled away. It wasn’t very long or passionate but it was still the best kiss he ever had. He met Liam’s eyes trying to judge how he was feeling.  
  
“That was different.” Liam smiled.  
  
“Good different?” Louis asked self-consciously.  
  
“Yeah, _really_ good. It gives me a lot to think about.” Liam said smiling.  
  
Louis just smiled back reaching for Liam’s hand to hold. The two sat there letting quite a bit of time pass before Liam spoke again.  
  
“So, what’s this I hear about you not wanting to come back to us?”  
  
“Just homesick I guess. I miss it here and honestly I’m not looking forward to facing Zayn or reality.” Louis mumbled.  
  
“Reality will always be there Lou, as for Zayn well I think he just needs time to adjust.” Liam told him.  
  
“Maybe but I do miss my family.”  
  
“We’re your family too. It’s okay to miss them and come visit but don’t forget where you belong boo.” Liam smiled.  
  
“Wow, really, Liam? That was cheesy; even for you.” Louis laughed.  
  
The two got up, still holding hands, and walked back to Louis’ house so that he could start packing and say his proper good byes.


	15. What Makes You Beautiful

The plane had just landed and Liam and Louis were fighting their way through a crowd of fans.

 

Word had gotten out about Liam going to Doncaster and the press was going nuts over the story so the airport was filled with flashing cameras.  
  
Liam grabbed Louis’ arm gesturing to a member of security fighting his way through the crowd to them. The two lads made their way to the body guard before going to get their luggage.   
  
They were brought to a waiting van that would bring them to the hotel the other boys were staying at.  
  
“Louis!” Niall yelled.  
  
Niall and Harry jumped up and ran at Louis to hug him ending up in the three of them on the floor laughing.  
  
“You’d think they were puppies.” Louis said to Liam before turning his attention back to the two lads lying on the floor, “I missed you guys too.”  
  
Louis sat up and watched as Liam and Harry exchanged looks before Liam mouthed “thank you” to Harry’s smiling face. Louis sent Liam a questioning look but he only smiled wider and helped Niall off the floor before doing the same with Harry but whispering in his ear making him turn his head towards Louis smiling.  
  
“Where’s Zayn?” Louis asked.  
  
“He’s in the other room.” Niall explained.  
  
“How has he been?” Louis asked not meeting Niall’s gaze.  
  
“Distant. He’s had time to think though so maybe you should talk to him.” Niall suggested.  
  
It was silent for a few minutes while the other three lads watched Louis’ reaction.  
  
“He’s in room 604, they keys are by the door.” Niall added.  
  
Without a word Louis walked out of the room grabbing the keys as he went.  
  
Louis took a deep breath before knocking on 604. He used their knock which consisted of three quick knocks followed by kicking the bottom of the door twice and one final knock before he unlocked the door.  
  
Louis walked in to find Zayn sitting on the couch shirtless with his earphones in. He moved to the couch tapping Zayn’s shoulder causing him to jump up and spin around looking at Louis. Zayn went to his suitcase grabbing a shirt before turning back to him.  
  
“You scared me; I didn’t realize you guys were back yet. Where’s Liam?” Zayn asked curiously.  
  
“Why? Can you not be in the same room as me without one of the other guys now?”  
  
“Don’t be like that Lou!” Zayn said annoyed.  
  
“Me? Really? Cause you had to put on a shirt before you could even speak to me. Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I want to see you naked!” Louis answered sarcastically.  
  
Zayn couldn’t help but chuckle at Louis. Louis smiled realizing this was the first normal moment he had with Zayn in weeks.  
  
“I’m not used to this stuff Louis. It just isn’t normal to me, I’ve never known anyone gay and it was always thought of as wrong by my family.” Zayn admitted.  
  
“But nothing’s changed, I’m still me, Zayn, I’ve always been gay you just never knew.”  
  
“But you were with Eleanor…”  
  
“Yeah and it worked out soooo well!” Louis laughed.  
  
“I guess…” Zayn laughed along with Louis “It’s still a bit weird to me but if it’s who you are then I do accept it.”  
  
“You do?” Louis nearly squealed with excitement.  
  
“You’re my brother Lou, and I love you, so what if you like guys.” Zayn smiled.  
  
“Thanks bro.” Louis smiled teasingly nudging his shoulder.  
  
“You’re welcome bro.” Zayn replied while hugging Louis, “Being gay is _what makes you beautiful_!” Zayn laughed.  
  
“What is with this band and cheesy lines?!” Louis laughed lightly hitting Zayn’s arm.


	16. Last First Kiss

It had been nearly a week and everything was back to normal, well…mostly. Louis and Zayn had gone back to being great friends and the tour had re-started. The only thing different was the quick kisses Louis and Liam would share when they were alone, although they weren’t alone very often.  
  
Today, however, they had a few hours to kill at the arena before their concert that night and all the boys were doing their own thing; whether it was exploring or catching up on sleep.

Liam decided it was time he and Louis officially talked about what was going on between them.

 

So he grabbed Louis’ hand and told the other boys they were going exploring.  
  
“This arena is huge!” Louis commented after they had been walking for a few minutes.  
  
“Yeah, there are some private booths upstairs that we have access to also.”  
  
“Oh yeah? Want to go check one out?” Louis asked suggestively.  
  
“Of course, Lou.” Liam smiled back.  
  
So the boys searched for the elevators while exchanging small talk. When they got up to the box level they asked one of the workers for a key so they could explore.  
  
“Woah this booth is awesome!” Liam said once they unlocked one of the rooms.  
  
“No kidding.” Louis replied sitting on the leather couch placed in the middle of the room.  
  
“I’m really glad that you and Zayn have made up. How is he doing with, um, everything?”  
  
“Are you asking if I told him about us?” Louis smirked “I didn’t tell him anything about you, not even that I like you. It’s hard enough for him to handle without me giving him details.” Louis laughed.  
  
“Yeah I guess.” Liam laughed too.  
  
“Something wrong Li?”  
  
“Nope, just wanted to be alone for a bit. Maybe talk or something.” Liam smiled shyly.  
  
Louis turned towards Liam smiling and realizing that Liam needed to talk to him.  
  
“Go ahead.” Louis smiled.  
  
“Like I said in Doncaster, I needed some time to think. Well I’ve been thinking and I’m _not_ gay Louis.”  
  
Louis’ smiled immediately dropped as he tried to hold back the tears that were beginning to sting at his eyes.  
  
“Don’t cry.” Liam rushed hugging Louis tightly “I wasn’t done. I’m not gay, but I do love you.”  
  
“I don’t understand.” Louis said shakily.  
  
“I guess I’m not saying this too well am I? What I mean is I’m not interested in guys, I mean I don’t think I am. But I am interested in **you** ; you’re the exception. I don’t know how to explain it, I guess I just can’t see myself with another guy unless it’s you, does that make sense?” Liam tried to explain.  
  
“Mostly, so what does that mean for us?” Louis risked a smile.  
  
“Well, it could mean more kissing…if that’s what you want.” Liam smiled.  
  
“Does the kissing come with a title?” Louis asked chuckling.  
  
“Well if you want to we could label it, I want to if you do.” Liam stumbled.  
  
“I’d like that very much. So are you going to ask me? Because this isn’t a proper moment if you don’t.” Louis smirked.  
  
“Louis, will you be my boyfriend?” Liam said dramatically as he got down on one knee.  
  
“Well my my I cannot believe ** _THE_** Liam Payne fancies me!” Louis joked.  
  
“Oh shut up man!” Liam joked back.  
  
“I’d love to be your boyfriend” Louis smiled hugging Liam.

  
The two lads leaned in slowly for a kiss.  
  
The kiss wasn’t like any they had shared before. It was slow and passionate, opposed to the quick sweet kisses they had been having for the past week.  
  
The best part was that it was the first of many.


	17. Why Don't We Go There?

“Well, don’t you two look happy?” Harry smiled as the two lads came into their room backstage.  
  
Liam and Louis looked at each other and smiled.  
  
“Hey, Hazz, I wanna talk to you for a second.” Louis said, as he gestured for Harry to follow him.  
  
“Soooooo? What’s going on?” Harry asked suggestively.  
  
“Oh not much. Just curious why Liam thanked you the other day?”  
  
“No reason I guess.” Harry shrugged.  
  
“Oh come on Hazza! You’re my best friend; it’s your job to tell me this stuff!” Louis teased.  
  
“I may have given him some advice…and told him to go to Doncaster, instead of me.”  
  
“Advice like what?”  
  
“Just helped him sort out some feelings and gave him someone to vent to. It wasn’t a big deal, he just wanted to say thanks for letting him be the one to sort everything out so he didn’t say the wrong thing.”  
  
“Awww, I have such a thoughtful boyfriend.” Louis smiled.  
  
“Boyfriend?! Oh my god Lou! Did you ask him? How did it happen?” Harry asked freaking out over the situation.  
  
“Calm down Hazz.” Louis laughed

 

“He asked me, it was up in the top level boxes and he got down on one knee like a gentleman.”  
  
“If he had gotten down on both knees this would have been a much different story. I’m so happy for you boo-bear!” Harry said the last part as he hugged him.  
  
“Only you would go there!” Louis laughed.  
  
“Come on, I have to go hug Liam this second!” Harry demanded as he started running back to their backstage room.  
  
“Okay…”  
  
Louis walked calmly back to the room as he watched Harry running frantically in front of him. When he arrived in the room he saw Harry hugging Liam watched by a confused Zayn and Niall.  
  
“I feel like I missed something.” Niall commented.  
  
“Yeah, me too.” Zayn added.  
  
Louis watched Harry’s face turn to one of shock as he realized the other two lads were in the room as well.  
  
“I just, I missed Liam. I got lost and thought I’d never see him again and I’m just so relieved that’s not the case!” Harry babbled his excuse.  
  
Liam laughed before looking at Louis for approval.  
  
“It’s okay Hazz, I don’t mind if they know, and I doubt Louis does either.” Liam smiled.  
  
“I don’t mind a bit.” Louis smirked.  
  
“Can I please tell them then? Pleeeaase?” Harry begged.  
  
“Go for it!” Liam laughed.  
  
“Louis and Liam are dating!”  
  
“You are?” Zayn asked wide eyes looking at Liam.  
  
“That is so awesome!” Niall smiled.  
  
“So wait, Liam’s gay too!?” Zayn asked confused, “Ni did you know about this one too?”  
  
“Nope!” Niall answered popping the P.  
  
“I’m not exactly gay. I just really like Louis the way you like Perrie. I don’t see myself dating a guy but I can see myself dating Louis, so I am.” Liam explained.  
  
“That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but I think I understand.” Zayn answered.  
  
“So does this mean you guys are going to stop kissing behind corners and do it in front of us?” Niall asked teasing.  
  
“Seriously, Niall you pay attention to the weirdest things.” Louis commented.  
  
“Okay boys time to hit the stage. They need you for sound check now.” Paul said coming into the room.  
  
All the boys left the room except for Niall who grabbed Louis’ arm asking him to stay back.  
  
“What’s up Ni?”  
  
“I was just wondering how Stan was doing. He said he was going to have a lot of work to catch up on when he got home so I was just wondering if you had talked to him.” Niall asked shyly.  
  
“Uh, I let him know when we got back but he didn’t say much.” Louis told him, slightly confused as to why Niall cared so much.  
  
“Oh.” Niall frowned.  
  
“But I could give you his number so you could ask him? He would like to have someone besides me to text I’m sure.”  
  
“Really?” Niall’s face lit up at the mention of getting Stan’s number.  
  
Louis took Niall’s phone and inputted the number under the name Stan Lucas. After getting his phone back Niall changed the contact name to _Stan._  
  
He spent the next fifteen minutes typing and deleting a text to Stan trying to find the right thing to say, all while he was supposed to be listening to instructions. He eventually just typed out something simple and hit send.  
  
  
_Hey Stan, so it’s Niall. Louis gave me your number. Just figured I’d text and say hi and I hope work isn’t too stressful ~Nialler_   
  
Upon seeing the text Stan smiled and typed a quick response then saved the number under _Nialler._


	18. Taken

It had been hours and Niall was still staring at his phone smiling like an idiot. The boys were all starting to get curious as to what was happening on his phone. Louis however had guessed and was just as happy about it as Niall. Louis texted Niall and asked him send the message that Stan had wrote him that was causing Niall to look up at Louis and blush.  
  
Louis opened the text and tried not to _awww_ out loud.  
  
_Hey Ni, great! I’ve missed talking to you! It isn’t too stressful but it will be better now that I have someone else to talk to :) ~Stan_  


X

  
It had been a long day and the boys were all exhausted. They had all gone to bed except for Louis and Liam, who had stayed up for some privacy. After they had been kissing a while the two broke apart for air.  
  
“I can’t believe how excited Harry was about us getting together!” Louis laughed.  
  
“Yeah, especially after what he did for me.” Liam chuckled “I’m still surprised he told you everything.”  
  
“Yea, well he’s my best friend so secrets aren’t allowed.” Louis teased.  
  
“I guess, so it isn’t going to weird between you guys now?”  
  
“Noooo, should it?” Louis asked confused.  
  
“Well if my best friend thought he was in love with me it would be a bit weird.” Liam shrugged.  
  
**_“HE’S WHAT!?”_** Louis yelled.  
  
“I thought he told you everything!?”  
  
“Well apparently not _everything_ everything!” Louis panicked.  
  
“Calm down boo it’s okay!”  
  
“It’s not though; I don’t want to hurt Harry!” Louis sighed.  
  
“You’re not hurting me Lou!”  
  
Louis and Liam looked over to see Harry leaning in the doorway smiling shyly.  
  
“Oh Hazza, I’m sorry!” Louis said rushing to hug him.  
  
“It’s fine boo, don’t worry about it.” Harry hugged him back.  
  
“You two talk, I’m heading to bed.” Liam said before kissing Louis good night.   
  
“He was exaggerating. I’m _not_ in love with you.” Harry whispered, “It was more like when you told me you were gay I guess I just thought about the _‘Larry Stylinson’_ thing and the fanfiction stuff and I don’t know…it just got me thinking, I guess.”  
  
“You read fanfiction about us?” Louis asked.  
  
“No!” Harry said quickly and louder than he had meant to.  
  
Louis smirked at Harry, amusement clearly written across his features.  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Louis asked.  
  
“It’s not like a read it _often_ …”  
  
“I meant you liking me!” Louis chuckled.  
  
“Oh! Because it doesn’t matter; you’re with Liam and I want you to be with Liam. I was just curious. I mean c’mon, you look like a Greek god with your shirt off, it’s no wonder I’m curious!” Harry laughed as he explained the last part.  
  
“Oh shut it, Hazz.” Louis laughed “Are you sure we’re good?”  
  
“Of course we are, you’re not that hard to get over Lou. Besides you're taken.” Harry teased.  
  
“Fine, then let’s get to sleep then, we probably have to get up early for something or other. We always do.” Louis sighed.


	19. Happily

After talking with Harry, Louis didn’t feel guilty about being with Liam; after all Harry said what he had been feeling was more curiosity than anything else.  
  
The next day was busy as usual with a few interviews and preparing for the concert later that night. It wasn’t until nearly 5PM that the boys finally got a break. They had a couple hours to relax backstage before they had to get ready to go on stage.  
  
Zayn had decided to take a nap; Harry was skyping his sister Gemma in another room and Niall was listening to music and texting. That left Louis and Liam pretty much alone to cuddle, so that’s what they did. It was nice to be able to just lay with each other even when the other boys were around.  
  
Louis was sitting on one of the couches with his feet up on a coffee table while Liam was basically draped over top of him lying across the couch. Louis was playing with Liam’s hair which caused him to close his eyes and sigh in relaxation, making Louis smile.  
  
“Geez Liam, I never pegged you for the submissive type.” Harry teased as he walked in the room causing Liam to sit up and blush.  
  
“Leave my Liam alone!” Louis teased back as he pulled Liam back into his original position.  
  
“ _Your_ Liam?” Liam questioned.  
  
Louis just blushed and nodded which made Liam smile.  
  
“Whatever,” Harry chuckled, “I just came to get some water, I’ll catch you love birds later.”

  
The two lads went back to cuddling and Louis went back to knotting his fingers through Liam’s hair. Louis heard Niall laugh to himself and looked to see the younger lad on his phone with a huge smile plastered on his face. Louis smiled and nudged Liam, pointing to where Niall was sitting.  
  
“Yeah, he’s been like that since yesterday. What on his phone could be that special?” Liam questioned.  
  
“I think it’s more _who_ than _what_. I gave him Stan’s number yesterday.” Louis explained.  
  
“Awe, that’s adorable, I didn’t know Niall liked Stan or, well, _guys_ in general.”  
  
“Me neither, but Niall having a crush is adorable, most things Niall does are adorable though.” Louis chuckled as Liam agreed.  
  
“ _I can **hear** you guys_.” Niall stated looking directly up at them.  
  
“But you have earphones in!” Liam stated confused.  
  
“Yeah, but I don’t have any music playing.” Niall shrugged.  
  
“Then why? I don’t… never mind you are seriously strange Nialler.” Louis said as Niall shrugged yet again.  
  
“And I’m pansexual Liam. Just FYI.” Niall stated as though it should have been obvious.  
  
“Oh.” Liam answered.  
  
“You don’t know what that even means do you?” Louis laughed as Liam shook his head indicating he didn’t.  
  
“It means gender doesn’t matter to me. I’m attracted to whoever I’m attracted to, simple as that.” Niall explained, “Oh and stop calling me adorable.” He teased.  
  
Niall went back to his phone neither confirming nor denying that it was in fact Stan that he was talking to. Liam and Louis continued cuddling and chatting silently to one another about random things like home and the next hotel stop.  
  
Louis was listening to Liam chat away about some friends back in Wolver Hampton though he wasn’t paying much attention to the story. Instead he was watching Liam’s lips as he talked wishing he could shut them up with a kiss but he didn’t want to interrupt Liam’s story.  
  
“Boo-bear!”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“Were you even listening to me?” Liam laughed.  
  
“Yes, well kind of, sorry.”  
  
“It’s fine babe.”  
  
Liam calling him babe made Louis heart jump and had him leaning down within seconds. Within the same second Louis had his lips on Liam’s and was kissing him passionately. Liam immediately returned the kiss and deepened it which had both boys fighting for dominance. The kiss lasted longer than either boy had breathe for so they eventually broke apart panting though Liam continued kissing Louis’ neck and along his collarbone while the older boy held him closer. Louis let out a small noise when Liam bit at his neck that sounded more like a moan then a sigh though Louis would deny that to anyone who asked.  
  
The boys jumped apart at the sound of someone coughing. They looked up to see Harry leaning in the doorway with an amused smirk.  
  
“Maybe I was wrong. Liam might be the dominant one.” Harry teased as he went to sit beside Niall who had only now stopped staring at the two other lads.  
  
“Well no one asked your opinion either way.” Liam told him.  
  
“Not an opinion, more like an observation.”  
  
Louis and Liam seemed to shrug it off and rearrange themselves to a sitting position before they were told they had to get ready for the stage.  
  
They were separated to get ready and met back behind the stage before they got into position. After doing their traditional chant they all said good luck and went to get into positions.  
  
“I love you Li.”  
  
“I love you too boo-bear.”  
  
Louis walked out onto the stage with the biggest smile realizing that this was how it was always going to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SEQUEL WILL BE UP SOON!


End file.
